But Then There Was You
by Hidge
Summary: Regret. Longing. Frustration. Jackson and April try their best to stay away from each other at Bailey's wedding. Of course, things never go as planned. Oneshot set during 9x09/9x10 - "Run, Baby, Run/Things We Said Today". What should have happened at the wedding!


**A/N: So I've thought about doing a piece about Bailey's wedding since the episode aired and for some reason, I got inspired to do it last week so here it is! What should have happened lol. Big thanks to tinyhuman02 for the icon and feedback! :)**

**I'm not exactly sure if they say how much time has passed since the pregnancy scare but if they do and I got it wrong then I apologize. Also, I did my best to make the interns more likable lol.**

**This story is rated T but it has some mild petting and swearing.**

**Disclaimer: Same as always!**

* * *

Stephanie Edwards stood by the bar next to her good friend Jo Wilson and watched their dates for the wedding interact. Dr. Avery was so gorgeous that it was actually distracting. And he was funny, charming, and brilliant. _And an Avery_. To say that she had a crush on him would be an understatement, and he was just as wonderful as she had imagined him to be. He had spent his time talking to her and making her feel comfortable since he had picked her up in the interns' locker room, but she knew that she wasn't the central focus of his attention.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from Dr. Kepner. She had found it a little odd when the trauma surgeon had asked her to the wedding on Dr. Avery's behalf, but it all made sense now. There had been a weird tension between them when she had scrubbed in on that surgery with the two of them and Dr. Grey and their interactions didn't always appear strictly platonic. They were definitely a thing, perhaps a past thing, but she had a feeling that their relationship wouldn't stay in the past for much longer.

Shane was worried about attending such a romantic event with his boss but it appeared as if he had nothing to worry about, not if Dr. Avery was his competition.

"How would you rate Dr. Kepner on a scale from one to ten?"

Jo took her friend's odd question in stride, and she was comfortable enough with her own sexuality to answer it honestly. "On a normal day, a seven, maybe a seven and a half." She took a sip from her drink and pursed her lips before she continued. "Today, a twelve."

Stephanie sighed, "That's what I was afraid of." The red-head looked absolutely breathtaking in her green, strapless dress, and of course her date had taken notice. "I think her and Avery are a thing."

Jo turned to her with eyebrows raised in surprise. "Really? Dr. Pretty Eyes and the dud?"

Stephanie nodded dejectedly but forced a smile when Shane strode up to them. "Hey Shane."

"Hi," he smiled back pleasantly.

"How hot do you think Dr. Kepner is on a scale from one to ten?" Jo asked mischievously.

Shane's eyes widened and he immediately began to stutter. "I…uh…I d-don't…haven't thought about it…she's, uh, my mentor…th-that would be totally unprofessional."

Stephanie rolled her eyes while Jo snickered into her drink. "You don't have to worry about hooking up with your boss," the dark-skinned woman told him. "She and Avery are a thing."

Shane felt slightly relieved by Stephanie's words. It felt great that he didn't have to worry about crossing any professional boundaries or getting involved in anything complicated. When he finally stopped thinking about himself, he smiled widely. "They'd be a cute couple," he declared perkily. "And she's a solid eight, at least," he added as a casual afterthought.

* * *

April walked slowly towards the buffet table and grabbed a plate. She was trying to divert every thought that she was having about Jackson to somewhere else but it was difficult. She thought that maybe food would help.

Even though the wedding hadn't actually happened yet because Dr. Bailey had been pulled into an emergency surgery, being in this atmosphere was hard for her, as she had predicted. Everything was so beautiful and it made her feel incredibly sad. Weddings were supposed to be happy occasions and yet all that she could think about was what could have been. This could have been her. She could have had all of this. Jackson had offered her the big wedding, a wedding where she could have whatever stupid party favours and ridiculous ideas that she wanted. This could have been her in the big, white dress…well, if she had been pregnant.

Still, this was hard for her, especially since Jackson looked so handsome in his tuxedo.

But she was doing what she had to do, and she had set him up with a date to keep him occupied. She was incredibly jealous of the intern but she was trying not to think about that as well. She didn't want to start regretting something else.

Meanwhile, across the ballroom, Jackson was having a similar internal struggle. He involuntarily closed and opened his hands in a repetitive motion as his eyes roved over every inch of April that was available for his viewing.

Stephanie looked incredible, but he just couldn't stop looking at his ex. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her when they had been getting ready in the attendings' lounge so why would he be able to stop now. This whole bringing dates idea had been so stupid. He had told her that the pregnancy scare had been a sign that they should stop, but what if not being able to stay away from each other was the real sign? They couldn't be apart. That had to mean something good. He thought that it meant something really good.

By his side, Alex was glowering at him. "Dude, you are being such a loser right now."

"Shut it, Karev," was his prompt response.

"Seriously, it's Kepner," Alex trudged on in a perplexed voice. "You should be able to keep your hands off of _Kepner _for one night."

Jackson turned to him with an expression that clearly said, 'You don't know what I know,' and it made the peds attending even more upset about the easy wedding sex that he would not be having this evening.

"Dammit," he muttered. "Shoulda nailed that when I had the chance."

Jackson ignored his friend's comment and walked towards the buffet table after taking a deep breath. A voice in his head was screaming at him to run in the opposite direction, to get as far away from April as possible. But everything else in him was saying otherwise. He wanted her, and he was too weak to fight it any longer. These past two weeks, being without her, had been pure torture. He didn't want to experience that ever again.

He stopped walking and stood a foot behind her. He slipped his hands into his pockets and took a moment to collect his thoughts.

April felt his presence behind her before he even said a word. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she felt a rush of heat in her cheeks. Her eyes remained focused on the buffet table in front of her and she refused to turn around.

Eventually he spoke, "I'm headed over to the bar. Do you want something to drink?"

"No, thank you," she replied quietly.

He sighed before he took a step closer to her, practically resting his head on her shoulder. "April, what are we doing?" He questioned in a frustrated whisper.

"I'm getting something to eat. I don't know what you're doing."

He gritted his teeth before he spoke again. "That's not what I meant and you know it. What are _we _doing? Why did we bring dates? Why couldn't we just come here together?"

"You were supposed to come here with Alex, not me," she answered as she moved further down the buffet table.

He was trying to have a civil conversation with her and she was being incredibly stubborn about it. It was maddening. "Why are you pushing me away?" He asked angrily.

She finally turned to face him and shot him an exasperated look. "Jackson, it was your idea to end things, remember? And I don't want this wedding, with the flowers and the candles and the music, to pull us back into that cycle of whatever the hell it was that we were doing."

Her answer made sense, logically. But he hadn't been thinking logically around her for a very long time. He bit down on his bottom lip and looked down at his shoes. As had become commonplace between them, he didn't have much to say, so she turned her back to him again and started to walk away. She quickly decided that she didn't have much of an appetite anymore so she laid her plate down on an empty table and headed out of the ballroom.

She hadn't gotten very far when she felt a hand clasp around her wrist. She was gently yanked backwards and she collided with Jackson's firm chest.

"What if I wanna be pulled back in?" He asked in a throaty whisper.

She looked up at him and instantly knew that making eye contact was a big mistake. He was looking at her so intensely that it made her stomach flutter. It made it even worse that she knew exactly what he was thinking when he looked at her like that. "Jackson," she spoke his name in protest.

He determinedly held her gaze before his eyes drifted to appreciate her bare shoulders and cleavage. "You were right about that dress," he told her in a husky tone that sent shivers down her spine. He had thought that she had been exaggerating the effect that her dress would have on him but she hadn't…not even a little bit.

"I told you," she murmured.

The hand that wasn't around her wrist landed on her hip and his fingers curled into the material of her dress. "Let's go somewhere and talk," he suggested in a whisper.

She rolled her eyes. "Right, _talk_?" She extracted herself from his grasp and walked away, but she didn't make it very far before he grabbed her again. "Jackson, stop it," she demanded as she struggled against his hold.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist so that she had to stop squirming. She gave up with a huff and rested her hands on his chest. "April, just be with me," he pleaded. "I didn't wanna stop but…I…I was hurt," he confessed. "Your reaction to not being pregnant…I didn't…it hurt."

Her expression softened and she looked up at him sadly. "I'm so sorry. I didn't…I…I didn't know."

His hands tightened on her waist and he gave her a small smile. "I know."

She pursed her lips before she spoke again, and the next question that she asked was a very practical one. "If I hurt you then why do you want to do this again?"

"You know why," he answered quickly. He couldn't actually say the words but he was sure that she knew what he was referring to. He was scared to say it but he wasn't afraid to show it. "I want this…_you_…I want to be with you, and I know that we need to talk about a lot of things, but that can wait because you look so gorgeous in that dress that I can barely stand it."

April blushed before she gave into him. His words and his eyes…everything was too much. She grabbed his hand and lead him towards the nearest closed door, which just so happened to be the coat room. Ironic, yet apparently inevitable. Cristina had been surprisingly insightful.

Jackson chuckled as he spun her around and pinned her against the closed door. It was a small space but it would get the job done. He flicked the light on so that he could see her and he looked down at her with a frisky grin. "The coat room? Really?"

"Well I'm not going to the back of your car like a teenager, or a slut," she countered.

He laughed as he pressed a kiss to her neck. "We had sex in a bathroom stall, in the _men's room_." He felt her skin heat up and he grinned to himself before speaking again. "We could just get a room upstairs, if you want. It could be nice."

She didn't want to wait to get a room upstairs. She wanted him now. She shook her head as she wrapped her fingers around the lapels of his suit jacket and roughly tugged his mouth down to hers. He responded to her eagerly as his hands slipped down over her hips and attempted to bunch up the fabric of her dress.

"Fuck, this is really fucking tight." He spoke in frustration but finished with a playful chuckle.

She giggled and arched her back so that she could slip her hands between her body and the door. She pulled the zipper of her dress down and smirked up at Jackson. "Better?"

He growled before he impatiently pulled up her dress the way that he wanted so that he could reach her underwear. His hands lingered on her smooth, creamy thighs before he pushed the silk material down her legs. She unbuttoned his crisp, white shirt and traced the outline of his pectoral muscles with her fingertips. He dragged his mouth along the edge of her dress, peppering kisses in her ample cleavage, on the way to her mouth.

"I missed you, ya know," he revealed after giving her a passionate kiss.

She smiled shyly, "I missed you too." She raised both her hands upwards and cupped his face. "But you really need to shave." It would take very drastic changes to make him unattractive but he was currently a little too scruffy for her taste.

He laughed, "Sorry, I haven't exactly put much effort into remaining kempt lately."

She hadn't realized until now that things between them had affected him just as much as they had affected her.

She pushed his shirt and jacket off of his shoulders and then started to work on getting him out of his pants, all while he lavished attention on her neck, shoulders, collarbone, and breasts. Her eyes flickered closed and her fingers stilled on his belt.

"Jackson," she whimpered.

He ran his nose up her neck until he placed his mouth on her ear. He hummed before asking, "What?"

"You know what," she squeaked impatiently.

He grinned smugly before he pulled back and looked at her with a serious expression. "Do you want to? Really? You're not gonna feel all guilty afterwards and start talking to Jesus?"

April looked down in embarrassment as she flushed. She saw now that her guilt, her indecision, was just as hard on him, and that wasn't fair. She bit down on her bottom lip as she seriously considered his questions. She cared about him too much to put him through that again, and she wanted to _show_ him how she felt about him.

"Yes, I'm sure. I want you, Jackson. Right now," she whispered.

He breathed a sigh of relief before he plastered his body to hers. He wasn't sure what he would have done if she had said no. He would have respected her decision but he wanted her desperately.

They kissed hungrily as he hitched one of her legs around his waist. Unfortunately, they were prevented from going any further by a light knocking on the door.

They exchanged startled expressions before Jackson cleared his throat. He tentatively called out. "Yes?"

"There's incoming trauma. We all got paged."

Jackson was still confused but he recognized Meredith's voice. "Okay, um, one second!"

He and April helped each other look presentable once again before they stumbled out of the coat room. Jackson was wearing a boyish grin whereas April was mortifying embarrassed.

"How'd you know?" She asked the general fellow standing not too far away.

Meredith smiled knowingly and shrugged. "Took an educated guess."

Meredith walked away and April turned to Jackson. "We should get our dates," she told him with a grimace.

"Right, forgot about them," he mumbled a little guiltily. He had forgotten all about the interns and the pseudo reception.

April started to walk away but he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back into his chest. "After we deal with this trauma, can we go somewhere really adventurous, like one of our apartments?"

He hadn't seen her new place and she hadn't seen his. Right now, that would be the boldest step that they could take together.

She smiled softly as she tilted her head to look at him. "That sounds nice, and I really need to shave your face."

He chuckled as he walked her back towards the ballroom. "Okay, okay, whatever you want," he told her happily.

* * *

**A/N: Hope this makes your hiatus easier! I'm going to try to update WWCB soon!**

**Please leave a review! :)**


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